Innovative drug engine: Transdermal formulations lead the wave of high-quality development
Against the backdrop of accelerating population aging, increasing burden of chronic diseases, and constantly upgrading medical consumption, China's innovative pharmaceutical industry is entering a new stage of development with high quality as its core.
As a revolutionary technology in the field of drug delivery, transdermal formulations have become a key driving force for industrial upgrading due to their unique clinical advantages and market potential. Among them, gel plaster, as a representative of transdermal preparations, is reshaping the market pattern at an astonishing speed.
This article will deeply analyze the current situation and future prospects of transdermal preparations and gel pastes.

01
Market Explosion: A Billion Dollar Race Driven by Aging and Consumption Upgrade

With the population over 60 years old reaching 280 million and chronic pain patients exceeding 300 million, transdermal formulations precisely meet the medication needs of the elderly and chronic disease patients due to their characteristics of "painless administration and continuous release".
It is estimated that by 2025, the market size of transdermal preparations in China will exceed 45 billion yuan, of which the market share of gel paste will exceed 35%, becoming the fastest growing sub sector.
According to the industry research report, the market size of China's transdermal preparations is expected to continue to expand in the next few years, with the gel paste market segment accounting for more than 30%, becoming one of the fastest growing sub sectors.
Demand explosion: The demand for convenient and safe drug delivery methods among the elderly population, as well as the pursuit of long-term treatment compliance among chronic disease patients, have jointly driven the rapid growth of the transdermal drug market.
Technological leap: The application of new transdermal enhancers significantly improves drug absorption rates, intelligent patches achieve long-lasting pain relief for up to 48 hours, and nanocarrier technology effectively solves the problem of blood drug concentration balance. These technological breakthroughs have laid a solid foundation for the widespread application of transdermal formulations.
Policy dividend: The National Healthcare Security Administration will include eligible innovative transdermal preparations in the priority review scope, and pilot the "Green Channel for Clinically Urgent Drugs and Devices" in multiple regions, significantly shortening the approval cycle. These policy dividends provide strong guarantees for the rapid development of transdermal formulations.
In the market landscape, Western medicine patches and traditional Chinese medicine patches exhibit a dual track parallel feature. Western medicine patches, represented by Flurbiprofen and Loxoprofen Sodium, occupy the majority of the hospital terminal market share; Traditional Chinese medicine patches rely on the concept of "food and medicine sharing the same origin" to form differentiated competition in fields such as rheumatism and bone diseases, and traumatic injuries.

02
Technological breakthrough: from "imitation following" to "intelligent delivery"

Using water-soluble polymer materials as the matrix, the drug loading is limited, and there are problems such as low transdermal efficiency and skin irritation.

Pressure sensitive adhesive technology and transdermal enhancer were introduced to achieve 12-24 hour sustained release. Typical products, such as loxoprofen sodium gel paste, received a warm market response.

It includes pH sensitive hydrogel, microneedle array patch and bioelectronic patch. These smart patches can trigger drug release based on changes in the microenvironment of the inflammatory site, or penetrate the stratum corneum through soluble microneedles, significantly improving transdermal efficiency. The bioelectronic patch integrates flexible sensors and microfluidic chips, achieving real-time monitoring and automatic adjustment of blood drug concentration.

03
Policy empowerment: the formation of a full chain support system

At the national level, a series of policies have been introduced to establish a full chain support system from research and development to payment, providing strong impetus for the industrial development of transdermal formulations.

R&D incentives: Medical insurance data openness supports target screening, national science and technology major projects tilt resources, encourages the construction of "medical enterprise collaborative innovation platforms", and accelerates the clinical trial process.
Accelerated admission: Exemption of BE trials for generic drug consistency evaluation, priority review channel to shorten approval cycle. The technical guidance principles issued by the National Medical Products Administration clarify the quality evaluation standards and promote the standardized development of the industry.
Payment guarantee: The medical insurance catalog is dynamically adjusted to include innovative transdermal preparations in the scope of medical insurance, reducing the proportion of patients paying out of pocket. Commercial health insurance adds an innovative drug catalog and builds a diversified payment system of "medical insurance+commercial insurance".

04
Future challenges and breakthrough paths

Despite its broad prospects, China's transdermal formulation industry still faces challenges such as raw material bottlenecks, technological transformation bottlenecks, and market access barriers. The high dependence on imported key raw materials such as high-end pressure-sensitive adhesives and transdermal accelerators has led to an increase in production costs; Frontier technologies such as microneedle arrays and bioelectronic patches are still in the laboratory stage, and the success rate of pilot scale amplification is relatively low; Grassroots medical institutions have insufficient understanding of transdermal preparations, and the penetration rate of tertiary hospitals needs to be improved.
The breakthrough path includes: promoting the localization of pharmaceutical excipients and reducing production costs; Strengthen the integration of industry, academia, and medicine, and accelerate technological transformation; Use the "the Belt and Road" policy dividend to set up production bases in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and expand the international market.

05
Future prospects: Reconstructing a new paradigm for drug delivery

The ultimate goal of transdermal formulations is to create a "precise, intelligent, and painless" treatment system. In the future, with the widespread application of genetic testing and AI algorithms, transdermal formulations will achieve personalized treatment, customizing drug formulations and release rates based on patient genetic characteristics. At the same time, the application areas of transdermal formulations will extend from acute analgesia to long-term intervention for chronic diseases, and will be combined with wearable devices to form a closed-loop system for real-time monitoring and automatic adjustment of drug delivery rates.
Under the triple drive of policy, technology, and market, transdermal formulations are moving from "edge innovation" to "center stage". The rise of gel pastes is not only a microcosm of the transformation and upgrading of China's pharmaceutical industry, but also a Chinese solution to the global pharmaceutical delivery technology revolution. In the future, with the breakthrough of technological barriers and the improvement of the industrial chain, transdermal preparations will surely usher in a new era of "precision medicine", providing more efficient and humane treatment options for patients worldwide